Learning the art and critical importance of quality livestock fencing - Agweek | #1 source for agriculture news, farming, markets - Guangzhou BrightVantage Ventures Group Co.,Ltd

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — It’s not uncommon for people living in colder climates to spend their winter evenings relaxing on a warm couch and catching up on their favorite shows. Jonathan Kilpatrick likes to do the same, but he’s also known to bring a fence post and fencing supplies to the living room. It’s there that he’ll tie a pile of New Zealand fence knots to wire insulators so he’s ready to go when grazing season hits once again.

That was an example Kilpatrick, farmer education director at Sustainable Farming Association, shared as he and Kent Solberg, senior technical advisor at Sustainable Farming Association, dived into a workshop about the foundations of fencing on Aug. 13. They gathered at Joe and Sylvia Luetmer’s property near Alexandria, Minnesota.

The goal was to educate attendees on how to be prepared to fence to their full potential and avoid common mishaps when pasturing ruminants. Fencing decisions are often made in haste, because — it's usually an emergency situation if livestock are on the lamb. The decision to reset a corner post, replace wire or resolve lost voltage is often made after a storm blows trees across the fence or after a rambunctious bunch of cattle decide they are going to open up a path to greener pastures. But a solid fencing system makes for good neighbors and takes a great deal of stress off livestock owners. That’s not something to take a chance on.

A handful of attendees were on hand for the day-long activity. Solberg explained that this was a condensed version of his full 30-hour energized fencing course he also provides to those looking to master the skills of fencing. He’s been practicing rotational grazing methods since the 1980s.

The group started off by talking equipment needs and worthwhile fencing supplies to make for long-lasting fencing projects. Unless you have access to equipment to mechanically drive fence posts, which is ideal, most do-it-yourselfers will need to dig holes for corner posts. Solberg said the reason that digging holes for poles was less desirable was because after you’ve set a a few of them on a hot day, there’s a tendency to cut corners and get the poles in as fast as possible.

Solberg started with a shovel, digging down as far as he could efficiently do with that. A post hole width is dug about three times the width of the post, or about 18 inches for a 6-inch pole. To reach beyond shovel depth, Solberg used both a post-hole digger and a post-hole hand auger. He recommends digging down at least the depth of your highest strand of wire. For this example, the top strand was 40 inches off the ground, so the hole was dug to that depth.

Solberg and Kilpatrick made sure that soil was tamped all the way up to the surface as it was placed in the hole with the pole.

“The bottom six inches are the most important,” Solberg said of making sure the post has a solid placement in the ground.

The pole was leaned back about 2 inches from plumb away from the inside corner of the fenced area. This is done to combat the pull of the fence once long runs of wires are attached.

Once the pole was set, Solberg marked wire spacing on the pole. He uses what he calls a jig stick with the wire spacing marked out on the stick to make the same line spacing on each pole. Wire spacing will depend on what type of animal you are containing.

“An energized fence is a psychological barrier. It’s the shocking power of the fence that manages the animal,” Solberg said. “We need to get that wire spacing to match the class of animal that we are dealing with.”

Most any straight stick will do for a jig stick, but he uses a piece of conduit that he can store with his other supplies. He works quickly to make his marks and moves on.

“We’re not building a Steinway here so we don't have to be precise. We just want to be reasonably close,” Solberg said.

With wire placement determined, Solberg described that his preferred high tensile fencing wire ranges from 170-180 ksi and 12.5 gauge. Many farm supply stores sell thicker gauges and upwards of 200 ksi wire. Solberg said that type works but does not work well for tying. Solberg selected a chunk of about 4 feet of wire to show how to tie a New Zealand fence knot, which is his preferred method for making your own insulator connections to poles.

Attendees practiced this method themselves after watching Solberg and Kilpatrick demonstrate. It did not come naturally, but eventually, each participant was becoming faster and more proficient in the skill.

Loretta Steckelberg, of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, said she came into the workshop looking for new ways to clean up her fencing for a variety of ruminants. She admitted that some of her current methods were holding up but in need of improvement.

“I learned that I should be testing the wire,” Steckelberg said. Kilpatrick described some tools that make testing for voltage easy. Solberg digressed on the poor quality of some fencing materials that make it easy to lose voltage.

Steckelberg said the fencing knot was a great skill to take back home to her family, but not one easily mastered.

“That was a struggle,” she said.

Ultimately a solid fence doesn’t just protect her animals, it also looks good and she hoped to start putting some of her skills to use on her farm.

“My kids help me with fencing in the summertime, and so I can pass this on to them and say, ‘Hey, this is something new I learned,’ and they’ll be able to take it and do new things in the future.”

Each participant became better with each knot made. As they progressed, their wire wraps became tighter and tighter. The finished project was as much utilitarian as it was a piece of art. Steckelberg had to snap a picture of her first finished fence knot so she could show her kids the work of her hands.

Kilpatrick said these skills are very important for small or big projects on the farm. Even if they don’t go ahead and do the big projects, they’ll have enough understanding that they can tell if a contractor knows how to do quality work.

“I get a lot of questions about how to build fence, and I think a lot of times even myself in the past have been intimidated by building my own fence, 'cause there’s a lot of work in that,” Kilpatrick said. Classes like these take away the intimidation factor.

He said it’s unfortunate that some contractors hired to do this work don’t always know the right equipment or materials to use, making for an expensive project that may not fulfill the needs of the livestock owner.

Doing it right from the beginning is key to success and peace of mind for years to come.

“The biggest things I am always trying to teach is, do it well, do quality work from the start and you won’t have to go back,” he said. “Build it right, you’ll have a fence that will last for 20-25 years, and it’ll keep happy neighbors, it will keep you happy and your livestock will stay where they belong.”

Solberg explained how easy it can be to become complacent about a fence once it’s installed, but regular maintenance is key. Knowing it’s at 100% means your animals will maintain the psychological understanding that there is a boundary they can’t cross.